Short Essay 1: Labor in the Gilded Age
Due September 30, 2024
One of the hallmarks of the Gilded Age in the industrializing United States was a tension between labor (workers) and Capital (owners) over rights and duties of one to the other.
Throughout the period there were multiple national strikes that at various time crippled
American industrial manufacturing over issues of wages, hours and basic human necessities. At times, these strikes erupted into violence, killing dozens and it seemed, at least from the worker’s point of view, that no one at any level was willing to protect them so they turned to organized, collective bargaining. The reactions by industrial leaders and national politicians were swift and at times brutal.
At the heart of this assignment is a basic question: Why was the effort by labor to organized to form unions so contentious? Why didn’t (don’t?) Americans like labor unions? If you’re following the news, you will have seen that the past 2-3 years has witnessed one of the most dramatic surges in organized labor across many industries from Amazon to Starbucks. Are there any lessons workers today can learn from 130 years ago?
For this assignment, please review the following:
- Review American Pageant Ch. 22, specifically sections 17-20 and Ch. 23
- American Spirit, please read the following documents in Chapter 24, Industry Comes of Age
- Labor in Industrial America
- In Praise of Mechanization, p. 422-424
- A Tailor Testifies, p. 424-425
: The kilief a Sweatshop cipip. 1250m, p. 438-429
Based on these readings please explain the opposing points of view over labor unions. In the excerpt, “In Praise of Mechanization” what are the virtues of mechanization? Why does the author believe that mechanized labor was beneficial? Compare that to the testimony of the tailor and the account of the Sweatshop Girl. How do you think the tailor and working girl would respond to the praises of mechanization? To address the stresses of mechanized labor, the Knights of Labor were briefly able to represent workers across the country with popular ideas.
What were those ideas? Why do you think the efforts of the Knights of Labor were appealing, at least for a few years? What reasons does Samuel Gompers give for condemning the Knights of Labor? Why do you think he was opposed to what the Knights stood for? What did the AFL stand for? How are the Knights and AFL similar in their ideals and yet so different in their actions?
What you’ll be graded on
- Turned in on time. Spelling, grammar, etc.
- No more than 3 pages
- Organization: Do you have an intro, body, and conclusion?
- How well do you incorporate material from the American Spirit primary sources into your essay?
: Do you had ciains to theisources? (se page 2)
Short Essay 1: Labor in the Gilded Age
Due September 30, 2024
Citing sources from The American Spirit.
For purposes of these assignments, please use the following format when citing material from The American Pageant:
Example for Works Cited
“Samuel Gompers Condemns the Knights,” The American Spirit, p. 429 (or p. 429-430)
For Bibliography
Kennedy, David M., and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American Spirit: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries. Cengage Learning, 2016.
Please make sure to cite everything and write everything in your own words
